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Poland
The Polish have the Power of Liberty. They replace the Persians. Suggestions and Spoilers Poland's unique units have a substantial hitpoint bonus. In fact, compared to many factions, the only thing that can be said to be worthwhile about Polish unique infantry and its signature knight, the Grunwald Veteran, is that they have extremely high hitpoints. Polish light infantry are the reverse of Asian light infantry: Asian conscripts might not survive a battle for long without replenishments. Slavic axemen, however, are doughty fighters, although a bit hard to recruit, and they and their descendents are the only melee unit capable of holding their ground against the Mongol steppe nomad line. The downside about this however is that these same units have a production time penalty, in that they are created more slowly than other units. The Polish player would thus be somewhat vulnerable against many factions with have a production speed bonus on their unique infantry lines, such as Sweden with its cheap heavy infantry, or even the Asians who are masters at flooding battlefields with lines of conscript troops. Ideally, you should build more than one barracks, so that you can train a mix of archers and pikemen from one, and then your unique light infantry from the other, so as to avoid having a logjam during resupply of your armies. This means that essentially, Poland is not a faction meant for aggressive play. That said, it does have its own special perks: the 50% extra food you begin with and the discounts you receive on civics research means that you should plan ahead how to benefit as much from this food resource. Ideally, you should place emphasis on medical research so as to ensure that the speed at which you create your unique units is as its fastest where possible. Free tax upgrades and free spawning caravans also means that you will always be receiving sufficient wealth, which can then be plowed into archers, heavy cavalry and the like. Even if cities are cheaper due to your diminished Civics cost, you should be careful about where to place your senate - unless of course, it was pre-placed. Because Poland can create two capital cities, which then must be captured in order to force you to capitulate, you can use the placement of your capitals on the map to wage psychological warfare: force your opponents to either split their forces up, or to concentrate on one site as a diversionary tactic. Attrition research is a must when playing the Poles, in order to secure your capitals from the enemy and to slow him down, in order for you to bring forth your resilient but slow-training forces to bear. CtW guide Although you will start off with quite a great deal of space - bear in mind however that this will not last. It can be expected that the Germans, Danes and Swedes on the west and north will begin to covet Pomerania and especially Prussia - note that Prussia has a supply centre, allowing for the generation of an extra army while Pomerania is rich with tribute. Further east away lie the Russians and the Mongols, while to the south lie the Hungarians, who guard the mountain passes into the Mediterranean Sea, and the Bohemians who border the Germans. You would well be advised to read up on Polish history on ideas how to figure this hepta-dilemma out - and that is to ally with 1 or more factions, in order to lessen the load as well as the number of enemies you might face. Note that to the south lies three regions: Moravia, Slovakia and Silesia. Of these three, Silesia has a far amount of tribute, Moravia silver mines and Slovakia is a vital crossroads into Hungary and Austria, leading all the way into Italy. Austria is a vital objective should you decide on conquering southwards. Eastwards lie Lithuania and Belarus - Lithuania is an important stepping stone on the way towards southern Scandinavia, and has reserves of amber while Belarus grants the use of an additional army, thanks to a supply centre. Capturing these provinces and holding them will be vital to Poland's survival - the additional troops and bonus cards should work well towards your own purposes, and the silver and amber will ensure economic and technological progress is enhanced during a conquest battle. Once you have surpassed these challenges, all that remains now is to build your empire. Preferably, you should try and take out Bohemia as quickly as possible, as Bohemia would normally be excommunicated by the Church. Attacking other factions however would invite the wrath of the Pope, thus the only other way around this problem is by annexing further territories or by occupying vassal states. It would thus be advisable for the Polish player to go on crusade, as obtaining Jerusalem will prove to be a boon in creating vassal states as well as opening up further the Middle East to conquest. Faction summary Settlements: Krakow; Vilnius; Lvov; Raseiniai; Anyksciai; Birstonas; Skuodas; Alytus; Warsaw; Wroclaw; Lodz; Trakai; Ukmerge; Szczecin; Gdansk; Poznan; Bialystok; Lublin; Bydgoszcz; Gorzow; Katowice; Opole; Torun; Olsztyn; Kielce; Zielona Gora; Rzeszow; Klaipeda; Kaunas Leaders: '''Wladyslaw the Exile, Jagiellon, Vytautas, Casimir the Great, Leszek the White, Jadwiga, Boleslaw Wrymouth '''Best age(s): Imperial History Little is known of its Poland's history until 966, when its rulers were baptised. In the following period the country, initially a duchy, maintained a loose relation with the Holy Roman Empire, sometimes as a vassal, sometimes as an ally. Foundation Of The Polish Crown In 1025 Duke Boleslaw the Brave was crowned the first King of Poland, and independence was firmly established. Unfortunately, there was only about a century of this, partly marred by civil wars between siblings. Boleslaw III thought a more lasting peace could be achieved by dividing his kingdom between his male heirs: instead, the Kingdom fell apart in four different pieces that essentially became independent duchies when he passed away in 1038. Poland remained fractured until the end of the 13th century. By then, two major events had taken place. Firstly, the Mongol invasion had devastated the Polish countryside after the defeat of the Polish army at Liegnitz. The severity and extent of the destruction is still debated, but it was most likely responsible for the second event: the German Ostsiedlung. In the wake of the Mongol invasion, parts of Poland was depopulated, and many German settlers moved east. These migrants hoped to turn from serfs in Germany to respectable freemen beyond the Empire's borders, and they helped revive agricultural production and crafts in some areas, as well as creating (or re-populating) Polish cities. German institutions and town laws influenced many aspects of Polish urban life, as German laws were often held to be more advanced and subsequently adopted. It is thus not easy to differentiate between Germans and Germanised Poles. Joining the Germans were Jews, who were banished from England by Edward I. Consolidation of the Kingdom Wladyslaw I became King in 1320 and spearheaded another period of unification, partly with foreign assistance. His son Kazimierz (Casimir) III 'the Great' made even more of an impression. He founded an important and lasting university, at Krakow in 1364, making it one of the first of such centres of learning north of the Alps. The king too was an adept military leader: despite facing at the beginning of his reign threats from both Bohemia and the Teutonic Order, the King not only managed to keep them at bay, but also managed to expand his Kingdom by the time of his death. The Union of Krewo and Conflict With the Teutonic Order Kazimierz, however, left no male heir. Yet his daughter, 'King' Jadwiga, cancelled her engagement with Sigismund of Luxembourg, who would later become Holy Roman Emperor, and married the Lithuanian Grand Duke Jagiello instead. This arrangement ensured independence from the Empire and served to strengthen Poland's military with the expertise of the Lithuanians who specialised in light raiding tactics inspired by the Mongols. Together, the two countries fought against the Teutonic Order and inflicted a very major defeat on it in 1410 at Grunwald (or Tannenberg). Initially, the battle had no direct political repercussions, although it coincided with the beginning of a permanent drop in western volunteers flocking to the Order. Yet, by the end of the 15th century the Grand Master of the Teutonic Order was now a mere vassal of Poland. Poland thus had successfully neutralised its most important enemies: the Empire was no longer encroaching on her borders; the Teutonic Order had ceased to exist; the Lithuanian Grand Duchy in the east was a close ally in a dynastic union; and the Mongols were gone for good. She had survived the Middle Ages, but the future was to offer many more crises to be overcome. References *Age of Chivalry: Hegemony Wiki; [http://ageofchivalry-hegemony.wikia.com/wiki/History#Poland_.281025_on.29 Poland — A History] Category:Factions Category:Spoiler Category:Catholics